Maritime Bus steers toward smooth launch

Trius Tours Ltd. of Charlottetown will launch one of the new Maritime Bus passenger and parcel service on Saturday, taking over from Acadian Bus Lines.

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The owner of the charter bus business that takes over most Acadian routes in Nova Scotia on Saturday is promising the smoothest transition possible.

However, Mike Cassidy, president of Trius Tours Ltd., of Charlottetown, conceded a few bumps will be inevitable with the launch of the new Maritime Bus passenger and parcel service.

“We’ve got the revamped website up and our call centre is fielding hundreds of calls, but we’ve experienced a few glitches,” Cassidy said in an interview Thursday.

“People have lots of questions and we’re doing everything we can to provide the answers.”

There were still some unresolved issues Thursday relating to service for the province’s South Shore and also about the possibility of Maritime Bus using Via Rail stations in Truro and Moncton for passenger pickups.

Maritime Bus will pick up passengers and parcels in Halifax at the Via Rail station beginning Saturday.

There are still lots of details to be tended to, said Cassidy.

“I’m sure we’ll be at this right up until the buses are moving at 5 a.m. on Saturday,” he said.

About 17 Trius Tours motorcoaches were being readied Thursday for departures to the appropriate locations throughout the Maritimes for the launch of the new regional service.

The new service revs up the morning after Acadian parks its buses after completing Friday’s runs.

“I’m giving the marketplace everything we have, with maximum frequency right away,” said Cassidy.

Maritime Bus is matching the rates and many of the established Acadian routes in Nova Scotia and throughout the Maritimes. Some underutilized routes have been dropped, but there are also changes that enhance the passenger experience, Cassidy said.

For example, Maritime Bus passengers can depart Wolfville early in the morning and get to Halifax in time for same-morning departures on connecting routes throughout the Maritimes. “The Kentville-New Minas-Wolfville area is basically receiving a commuter service to and from Halifax,” said Cassidy.

Prince Edward Island-bound customers from Halifax will connect with their bus quickly in Amherst. The previous Acadian trip to P.E.I. required a wait in Moncton of several hours.

Details are available at maritimebus.com, which includes an online reservation system.

Just one coach sporting the Maritime Bus brand will be part of the system when it starts Saturday. Trius Tours logos will be on most of the others.

Cassidy said Maritime Bus will eventually be comprised of 20 dedicated motor coaches, some equipped with a wireless network in an effort to attract passengers travelling with laptops and tablet computers.

When Cassidy appeared before the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board in October seeking approval to fill the void left by Acadian, he said Maritime Bus would rely heavily on social media to reach young passengers.

Montreal’s Groupe Orleans Express, operator of Acadian Coach Lines in Nova Scotia and Acadian Intercity Coaches in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, notified the Nova Scotia regulator in August that it was abandoning its money-losing service at the end of November.

Irving Transportation Group of New Brunswick sold the Acadian regional service to Groupe Orleans in 2004.